This is the most widely known and largely grown vine in Piedmont. It is almost certain that its origin can be found on the Monferraro hills, but since last century it has extended largely into the zone of Alba. The crop is plentiful and constant and ripens in the first fortnighr of October. The bunches are conical-pyramidal-shaped and quite compact. The grapes are medium-sized and blueish-black.

Wine maker notes

BARBERA D'ALBA
Controlled Denomination of Origin
The vine is strong, versatile and gives a good yield. It is considered a superior wine. Barbera d'Alba presents organolepric features that differ from zone to zone. These characteristics become more evident after fining. It becomes a D.O.C. wine soon after the vintage, and after one year's ageing in wooden casks it can be called "Superiore".

Producer

Giuseppe Giacosa, the son of a sharecropper in Bricco di Neive, gave up the traditional work of the fields and became first mediator in the grapes market and then wine merchant and owner of a winery in Borgonuovo di Neive. During the period between the two world wars and subsequently until 1960, his son Leone expanded the business started by his father devoting his time particularly to ageing and gaining appreciation of the wines of Alba. These were years of difficult and intense work but laid the foundations for the future development of the business' activity. Leone handed down the business to his sons Valerio and Renzo, both sensitive to the new demands of the market. On the strength of the reputation acquired by the wines of Alba in the meantime, they improved and extended the winery, also modifying the productive trend and devoting themselves to the selection of the most renowned "crus" of the zone. In recent years, due to the subsequent development of the foreign markets, it has become necessary to take into account the preferences of these new customers who ask for well-structured and harmonious wines, with intense and deep colours. This has made it necessary to improve some of the winemaking and fining techniques but wirhotit altering the typicality of the wines. It was also necessary to purchase vineyards in some of the best Barolo zones such as "Cascina Canavere" in Monforre and "Tenuta Le Mandorle" in Castiglione Falletro, in an effort to meet, at least in part, the needs of the company. This has been made possible since the Giacosas' latest generation, Maurizio, Valerio's son, and Paolo, Renzo's son, have become part of the company.